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Unknown Occupiers

19-05-2010, 10:10 AM

Hi all, I hope sopmeone can assist.

My friend asked me if there was a notice which can be served to enquire the details of the occupiers of a residential house. I know there is a form that can be sent in commercial premises which requires the occupiers to give full details of the basis on which they occupy the property.

My friend inherited a property which has tenants in it. He has knocked on the door but no one answers. He has written letters but no response. They are not paying any rent either. It may well be that they have a tenancy agreement but we cant be sure. Is there any formal statutory notice we can send to them asking for them to declare who they are and what tenancy agreement they have.

I assume that if there is no reply, my friend should serve a section 8 for non payment of rent and issue a claim. Is this correct or should he go down the trasspassers route. I do the usual accellarated and simple section 8 claims but this one is beyong my knowledge so any assistance for my friend will be most appreciated. It is a nice property and will be nice for him to move into with his family.

Comment

I have asked my friend but he has no idea at all. He inherited the property and has no clue who is in there. The problme is that if they do have a tenancy then he doesn't want to get accussed of harassment or unlawful eviction.

Thank you for the link.

Comment

Has he tried the local authority voters register or to find out whio is paying council tax there? Talk to the neighbours? Ask the postal delivery person? Knocking on a door and asking who lives at a house is not harrassment or illegal eviction, it's making enquiries. When he inherited the house was he really given no other information at all, just "to you I leave my house at XXXX address?"

pm

Before acting on forum advice, you may wish to consult an expert, someone who has all the relevant facts, and who accepts liability for their advice.

Comment

There is more to the story. The property was initially unlawfully occupied and and was rented by someone else who had no right to rent it out. He was a neighbour who tried his luck after the owner died and just took over the house.

It was only later that the family (who lived abroad) found out the person who died had left a will and the house came to their attention. Litigation followed and the house was registered in my friends name. All that time these people were living there and no information was provided as to who they are.

I think he is just going to have to persist and try and get in contact. If not then I can't really see what else he can do.

Comment

There is more to the story. The property was initially unlawfully occupied and and was rented by someone else who had no right to rent it out. He was a neighbour who tried his luck after the owner died and just took over the house.

It was only later that the family (who lived abroad) found out the person who died had left a will and the house came to their attention. Litigation followed and the house was registered in my friends name. All that time these people were living there and no information was provided as to who they are.

I think he is just going to have to persist and try and get in contact. If not then I can't really see what else he can do.

So the people living there are the so-called tenants of someone who tried to claim adverse possession? Or possibly squatters?

I think I'd probably try the procedure for evicting squatters and see what happens - if they have any sort of proof of a tenancy then no doubt they'd produce it to the court. And if they don't then I presume one would get a possession order. Your friend can't get into trouble if he just follows legal procedure.

It is for the tenant to surrender their lease, and then for the landlord to accept (or not). A s21 notice by itself, and for that matter a tenant leaving as a result of the notice is probably not sufficient to meet the standard required for surrender by operation of law.

This is a bit of an unusual situation and I'm not sure what to do... long story short, my tenant stopped paying their rent in June and has given me several reasons why they couldn't pay. I tried my best to be accommodating, as I thought it's best to do that and try to come to an amicable arrangement...

I've heard that one before.
It's always mistaken.
Any tenant would take care the property they rent, in fact they have to (the property has to be returned in the condition it was given less fair wear and tear otherwise the landlord can claim compensation - regardless of who the tenant is)....

In English law, the principle is, essentially, that the law is what it says, not what was meant.
When you read appeals cases, the amount of time spent looking at definitions and trying to match the precise wording to the precise situation is testament to this.